New pre-op class prepares cancer patients
by Cindy AbolePublic Relations
Imagine a woman’s thoughts upon news that she has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Fear and anxiety may be her initial response, but the ability to process the diagnosis and to seek information, guidance and reassurance from the right people can be a positive start towards their course of treatment and medical experience.
This is the goal of the new Partners in Recovery program, a patient education program introduced this fall by Hollings Cancer Center (HCC) to benefit breast cancer patients. Organized as a pre-op education class for these patients, breast cancer specialists are being proactive in patient education and making this mandatory for their new patients.
Patients attend based upon their diagnosis and surgery schedule. And like the disease itself, when intervention is conducted early, the odds are favorable for a patient to return to a good quality of life.
“We’re glad to offer this program to patients in a timely manner,” said David Cole, M.D., professor of surgery and head of surgical oncology. “This is a great chance to feature our multidisciplinary, comprehensive care team approach for educating patients with their diagnosis.”
A team was made up of nurses, physical therapists, social workers and other specialists who meet with new patients in an informal setting bi-monthly at the center. Each team member shares some information about their expertise through hand-outs, models and demonstrations with the goal of preparing the patient for their hospital experience and recovery period.
“We see this as an important expansion of our breast oncology program and other support groups,” said Bonita Gotbaum, R.N., HCC breast oncology coordinator. “It’s a chance for us to bring our level of inpatient and outpatient support together and be a model for other collaborative practice services.”
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East nurse Jane Lilley demonstrates use of a J-P drain and surgibra on
a Betsy mannequin. HCC breast cancer patients are now able to ease their
worries and expectations by attending a learning session with care professionals
prior to surgery.
“I’m looking forward to participating and teaching in this class,” said Jane Lilley, R.N., who helps care for recovering breast cancer patients in her unit. “I’ve learned so much in the preparation process. It gives me a chance to work with these patients in a different capacity.”
Lilley and fellow nurse Melissa Wilson, R.N., will discuss nursing care following surgery. In her presentation, she discusses information from breast anatomy and the stages of breast cancer, to surgery and biopsies and expectations during post-surgery care, medication and diet.
Lilley began working with this patient population in October 2002. Her interest in caring for her patients has progressed to other volunteer work with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and Race for the Cure.
Physical therapist Wendy Albano discusses post surgery precautions and exercises with patients who undergo a lumpectomy, mastectomy or axillary/sentinel lymph node dissection. Since some patients experience a loss in their range of motion, she knows it is important for patients to understand and work through their physical limitations. She provides a hand-out of do’s and don’ts, plus simple exercises for breast surgery recovery.
“I was glad to be asked to participate in this team approach to patient education,” Albano said. “For some breast cancer surgeries, there’s a risk for lymphedema (which causes swelling) or infection. Our aim is to assess the patient and orient them to various exercises and activities that will help them function and maintain a good quality of life.”
In addition to HCC’s multidisciplinary presence with good patient care, HCC also manages a high-risk breast cancer screening clinic for patients who have a defined risk for developing breast cancer. The program is designed to help these patients through counseling and education. Further down the road are plans for developing a women’s cancer care pavilion joining the efforts of GYN oncology and the breast cancer multidisciplinary clinic to focus on women-specific cancer care issues.
“We believe that we can offer all of these things to provide our patients with a better end product: more effective patient care,” Cole said.
Partners in Recovery Team
Bonita Gotbaum, Karen Rankine, Jane Lilley, Andrea Meaburn, Melissa
Wilson, Wendy Albano, Elena Bell, Susan Hamner, Mary Elizabeth Canaday,
Susan Gibson, and Drs. Cindy Carter and David Cole.
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